Refrigerator cooling structure



June 7, 1932. w. H. PERclvAL REFRIGERATOR COOLING STRUCTURE Filed March5l, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet l Z 7m ./N 1V 11u w n u ...4. nu .Z 1 VL nu -1W6 u, 1% n 3 #a y w w uw /a Filed March 51. 1930 2 sheets-sheet 2Patented June 7, 1932 1P'Aflelar OFFICE kXI'OB'.I"H,H. RERCWAL, OFDESJIOINES, IOWA, ASSIGNORLTO C. L...PERCIVAI `'En CO., `OF

DES MOINES, IOWA .REFRIGERATOR COOLING STRUCTURE'.

`'Aplxli'ernition iilelarch 31,.1930. Serial No. 440,317.

. SM-.y 4present invention hasttozdo :with a cool- -in'gunit` structureYused in-'refri'gerators or 1 coolers ofithekindV employedlinrbutcherlshops and thek lile,.in which. cooling rcoils are em- 5ployedi-nltheftop:oftherefrigerator.

We vide aaacooling-'cham'ber having a bottomand side walls anda.separate'movablefront end walll `Generally it is my. purposeto providesuch a structure withtpartsiso.- arranged as to in- .i '0 sure amaximumrfcirculation of air-andsoar- -rangedfthatthe circulatingair'wlllbe caused to fiov closely-adj acent tothe coolingfcoils;

ithithese-r and: other objects inf view, my `:inventionAconsistszfinflthe construction, ar- ;:range'mentmnd combination y-of4the various parts of my refrigerator cooling structure, 'whereby `the*objects contemplated? are vattained, ias. hereinafter more fullyk -set'forth, pointed out insmy claims, and illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

:Figure lshows a topor plan :view of av refrigeratorlhaving its topremoved, 'the re-l frigeratorrbeing equipped :with y'a cooling:structure embodying myinventi'on.

Figure2 :isr avertical, sectional viewita'ken on the line 2-2 of Figure1.

Figure 3 is avertical, sectional yview-taken lon .the line` 3-3 tof.Figure2..

Figure 4 is a vertical, sectional view through the bottom of one of.thercooling chambers; and

Figure 5 is a perspectiveview of. one ofthe coolingV chamber members.

In the-accompanying drawings, Ihaveused vthe reference lnumeral 1() toindicate the side wallsof `arefrigerator ofthe kindliere'incontemplated. Y

' @Therefrigerator haslthe end walls-12. The iirefrigeratorifisrbuilt'with V.af topg14.

' This-:refrigerator isoathetypevshichzfis large enoughto haveaadoorinathe lower portion through whichra Yman may enter for hanginglup meator the like.

rIlhexcooling unit structure is arranged in the v. upper part-of therefrigerator just, under the top 14.. VIn the particular form of myinvention herein illustrated, two cooling coils 16 .of standardcommercial construction are hung from-the top 14, spaced from each otherlengthwise of the refrigerator.

`I provide la cooling chamber member for :each of' these coils, andthese two cooling chambersgcooperate in such mannerV as to form onecomplete cooling chamber for the coils.

Eachcooling chamber member comprises what might be called a box-likedevice A,

having no'front wall. The cooling chamber member-A has a bottom 18,`endwalls ,19 and aside wall 20. These walls may be made-.of

suitable insulating material and are preferably lined withzinc 22, whichextends-across `the bottom as yat 24. The bottom 18 is inclinedfrom the`side-wall 20downwardly and toward the openend of the member A.

At thelower edge lof the bottom 12, Vthe lining portion 24 is providedwithv an upstanding rib, flange-like structure 26. The lining 24 thusforms what might be called 4an inclinedl pan in the bottom of the memberA. l Each member A is provided with lugs 26 -proJectmg from its ends atits lower part, as

shownffor instance in Figure 5.

' These, lugs'26 areslidably supported on in- 4clinedtracks28, which areinclined from the end walls 12 of the refrigerator inwardly and.downwardly as shown in Figure 2 for eX- ample, and have at their lowerparts the sboulders30 to limit the sliding movement of the lugs. 26'.

`The bottom 18-of each cooling chamber A has-,at its-lowerpart near oneend a discharge outlet. 32. I providefor coacting with each lofthecooling chamber units A, aseparate member that might be called apartition 36 hung by means of'eyes 38 on hooks 40 :from

Ithe top-l4,adjacent to one of the'coils 16, and :positioned tosubstantiallyl closethe opening has the short pivoted legs 44 by whichthe pan v 42 is supported in horizontal position. Y

The pan 44 has an outlet 46 above the lower part of the bottom 18, whichmay when desired be closed by a cork 48 or other closureV member.

I will now refer to the practical use and operation of my coolingstructure.

lVhen the refrigerator is in use, the members A are moved to theirinward limit of movement. The right-hand member A is shown in Figure 2in its position then assum-ed. The ends 19 of the respective me1nbers Amay be respectively tongued and grooved as indicated at 50 and 52, sothat when the members A are slid together, a reasonably tight oint isprovided, and the members A then form a box closed on all sides and openat its top and having at its bottom a central opening, which is providedby reason of the fact that the bottoms 18 terminate short of the ends ofthe members 19, as shown in Figures 2 and 5.

When the refrigerator is then in operation,

it will be noted that there is a space entirely around the units A andbetween these units and the walls of the refrigerator through which airmay pass upwardly from the lower part of the refrigerator and thenceover 'the walls of the members A and downwardly box.

vsuch that the air must then pass to the bot- 'tom of the members A.

I preferably maintain a supply of brine in the pans 42;

This air therefore will pass along the supply of brine to the opening atthe center of the complete box, that has been described, and thencedownwardly into the refrigerator.

' Air can also pass upwardly around the ends 19 of the members A, and assoon as it is passed over these ends, will naturally tend to dropdownwardly on account of the cold coils 16. Any ai-r that enters at allbetween the successive units of thecoils must be carried downwardly 'tothe lower parts thereof and will then travel along the brine holdingpans 42.

On account of theA construction thus exf plained, there will be a strongcirculation and the tendency will be to draw the air which might pass upalong the end walls 19 just outside the space between the partitions 36to be drawn over into the respective members A andalong the coolingcoils rather than over the ends 19 and into the space between themembers 36. H y

Becauseof'the fact that the members of the coils 16 are substantiallyfiat and upright and thefurther fact that the coils are.re ce'ived inthe chambers A, fitting quite snugly adjacent the wallsthereof, asillustrated at the right-hand side of Figure 1, it is obvious thatpracticallyall of the air which entersthe chamber A must traveldownwardly along the coils to the bottom of the chamber A' and thencealong the brine containing pany 42 to tlge opening' at the lower end ofthe partition 3 Y I` have th-us provided for insuring the movement ofpractically all of the air in close proximity to the coils 16 and formovement for the very large part of the air along the brine inthe pans42.

There is thus insured a continuous strong circulation and there is also'provided means for causing the current of circulating air to pass closeto the coils for securing the maximum cooling effect thereof. i

One of the problems that is involved in attempting to build aconstruction of this kind arises from the difiiculty in getting accessto the coilsl and to the pans 42.

For meeting this problem, I have hung the partitions 36 as shown, sothat they may be swung out of the way somewhat as indicated .bythe'left-hand member 86, in Figure2, 'or

they may be lifted olf the' hooks 40, if that becomes necessary.

Also I have provided the sliding mounting of the cooling chambers A onthe tracks v28. Some means must be provided for drainage from themembers A. VAny suitable means may be employed. Y As an illustration ofone structure that may be used. I have shown a short drain pipe arrangedto receive drainage from the outlet 32 and to discharge into a funnel 62at the inner end' cfa drainage take-off pipe 64.i f `1 A,

Vhen the member 4A is slid toward the position illustrated .at theleft-hand side of Figure 2, vconsiderable space is provided forpermitting access to the pansv 42 and to the units 16. y

It will be noted that the tracks 28 are inclined downwardly from thewalls 12 to their shoulders 30.V This structure has several advantages.On account of it, the members A tend to slide toward each other tomaintain tight joints when the device is inuse. On the otherhand, whenthe'members Aare slid away from'each other, they are also raisedslightly so as to afford easier access to the coils I intend here toshow in my drawings an illustrated form in Which my invention may beembodied.

Changes may be made in the details of the construction and arrangementof the parts of my device Without departing from the purpose ot myinvention, and it is my intention to cover by my claims any suchVchanges and modifications which may be reasonably included Within thescope of my claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. Iin a device of the class described, a pair of cooling chamberunit-s, each having a bottom, a side Wall, and end Walls, said unitsbeing arranged With their open sides toward each other, and means formounting said units for adjustment to permit them to be moved toposition for forming a box closed on all four sides or to be moved apartfor permitting access to their contents.

2. In a refrigerator, a refrigerator structure having Walls and a topcombined with a pair of cooling coils hung from the top, havingsubstantially fiat upright spaced members, a pair of cooling chambermembers, each being adapted to snugly receive one of the coils, saidmembers having each a side Wall, end Walls and a bottom, the open sidesof said cooling chamber members being adjacent each other, and thebottoms terminating short of the open sides of said members, means formounting said members for sliding movement toward and from each other,so that when they are slid toward each other they form a box having foursides and a bottom with a central opening thereacross.

3. In a device of the class described, a pair of cooling chamber units,each having a bottom, a side Wall, and end Walls, said units beingarranged with their open sides toward each other, and means for mountingsaid units for adjustment to permit them to be moved to position forforming a box closed on all four sides or to be moved apart forpermitting access to their contents, movable partitions for the upperportions of the open sides of said units.

4. In a refrigerator, a refrigerator structure having walls and a topcombined with a pair of cooling coils hung from the top, havingsubstantially flat upright spaced members, a pair of cooling chambermembers, each being adapted to snugly receive one of the coils, saidmembers having each a side Wall, end Walls and a bottom, the open sidesof said cooling chamber members being adjacent each other, and thebot-toms terminating short of the open sides of said members, means formounting said members for sliding movement toward and from each other,so that when they are slid toward each other they form a box having foursides and a bottom with a central opening thereacross, and mov- -ablepartitionssupported from said top for Yclosing thexupper portions ofthel-openzsides of. said members.

v 5. Infa deviceof theclass describedaa pair of cooling chamber units,each: lhavingra :bot-I tom, aside'vvallyand-y end Walls, saidunitsbeingarranged with their open sides-'toward each" other, -and means formounting. said of said units.l

of cooling chamber; units, eachhaving an. bottom,;a` side Wall, ,andsendWalls, saidA units being arranged Withtheiropen sides toward each other,and means for mounting said units for adjustment to permit them to be:

moved to position for forming a box closed on all four sides or to bemoved apart for permitting access to their contents, movable partitionsfor the upper portions of the open sides of said units, the bottoms ofsaid units;V

being inclined, with removable brine holding pans resting upon saidbottoms, and means for maintaining said brine holding pans level.

7. In a refrigerator, a refrigerator struc-v ture having Walls and a topcombined with a pair of cooling coils hung from the top, havingsubstantially fiat upright spaced members, a pair of cooling chambermembers, each being adapted to snugly receive one of the coils, saidmembers having each a side Wall, end Walls and a. bottom, the open sidesof said cooling chamber members being adjacent each other, and thebottoms terminating short of the open sides of said members, means formounting said members for sliding movement toward and from each other,so that when they are slid toward each other they form a. box havingfour sides and a bottom With a central opening thereacross, and movablepartitions supported from said top for closing the upper portions of theopen sides of said members, the bottoms of said members being inclinedand having drainage outlets at their loWer parts, brine pans resting onsaid bottoms, and means for maintaining said brine pans level.

8. In a refrigerator, a refrigerator structure having Walls and a topcombined with a pair of cooling coils hung from the top, havingsubstantially fiat upright spaced members, a pair of cooling chambermembers, each being adapted to snugly receive one of the coils, saidmembers having each a side Wall, end -Walls and a bottom, the open sidesof said cooling chamber ymembers being adjacent each other, and thebottoms terminating short of the open sides of said members, means formounting said members for sliding movement toward and from each oth- 6.In aideviceof theclass described,.a=.pairl ,movable brine holding-I pansfor thebottoms 1er, so that when they are slid toward each other theyform a boX having oursides and a bottom with a central openingthereacross, and movable partitions supported from said 5 top forclosing the upper portions of the open sides of said members, said meansbeing arranged for causing'said members to slide in a plane inclinedfrom the horizontal. 9. In a cooling structure of the kind described, acasing, a cooling chamber unit mounted therein having a bottom, endWalls, a sidewall and an open side, amovable partition for coacting Withthe open side having its lower edge spaced from the bottom of thecooling chamber unit, said cooling chamber nuit being mounted forsliding movement toward and from said partition.

' WORTH H. PERCIVAL.

